New microscale tool aids biofilm research

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 9 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've created a microscale tool to aid research involving biofilms -- bacterial colonies involved in most human infectious diseases.

University of Michigan Professor John Younger said the microfluidic tool will help researchers understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms.

"Representing a new application of microfluidics, the device measures biofilms' resistance to pressure," said Younger, the study's lead author, noting biofilms experience various kinds of pressure in nature and in the body as they squeeze through capillaries and adhere to the surfaces of medical devices.

"If you want to understand biofilms and their life cycle, you need to consider their genetics, but also their mechanical properties," Associate Professor Mike Solomon, senior author of the study, added.

The researchers said they found the biofilms they studied had a greater elasticity than previous methods had measured. They also discovered a "strain hardening response," which means the more pressure they applied to the biofilms, the more resistance the materials exhibited.

The new device, they said, could also be used to measure the resistance of various other soft-solid materials in the consumer products, food science, biomaterials and pharmaceutical fields.

The research and development of the device are reported in the journal Langmuir.